Look Who it Was Random video

The Skew is the Cue | Ulrik William Nash | TEDxOdense

1,309 views · Published 10 May 2017 · 10:01 · Indexed 22 September 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2017 · Nonprofits & Activism

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In a complicated talk, Ulrik William Nash takes the mathematics behind the wisdom of crowds and shows where we make mistakes. 

By using behavioral economics and skewed probability, he can show you where large groups may go wrong, and can statistically describe your collective error.

What is the probability of Chelsea F.C winning the English Premier League this season? Do you know? Perhaps not. But what if you asked thousands of people just like you for help, could you together answer this question? Ulrik William Nash is an ingenious behavioral economist who uses data from large crowds of people to find answers to difficult problems. Uniquely he can tell when crowds are about to make mistakes by looking at the distribution of guesswork in a group. Ulrik will explain the mathematical psychology that explains why our collective judgment is often remarkably intelligent, although we are nearly always wrong as individuals, and how our democratic judgment may deviate from the truth.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

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